Double Leonid shower threatens satellites

The first of two Leonid meteor showers in 2003 is set to peak on November 13th and 14th. Dozens of Leonids per hour are expected over Alaska, Hawaii, Japan, and parts of China. A further peak over the Atlantic side of North America is due on November 19th. The annual Leonid shower poses a threat to satellites and therefore telecoms systems, amongst other satellite dependant business functions.

Bill Cooke of the Space Environments Group at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center explains: "Normally there's just one Leonid meteor shower each year, but this year we're going to have two: one on Nov. 13th and another on Nov. 19th."

"Both are caused by comet Tempel-Tuttle, which swings through the inner solar system every 33 years. With each visit the comet leaves behind a trail of dusty debris - the stuff of meteor showers. Lots of the comet's old dusty trails litter the mid-November part of Earth's orbit.”

"Our planet glides through the debris zone every year," says Cooke. "It's like a minefield. Sometimes we hit a dust trail, sometimes we don't." Direct hits can spark a meteor storm, which is defined as more than 1000 shooting stars per hour. "That's what happened in, for example, 1966 and 2001," says Cooke. "Those were great years for Leonids."

"This year we're going to brush past two of the trails - no direct hits," he says. Even so, "we might have a nice display."

•Date: 13th November 2003 •Region: Worldwide •Type: Article •Topic: Telecoms cont
Rate this article or make a comment - click here